On this brisk late fall day, I have been sitting on my patio warmed (slightly) by an outdoor heater, looking at the remaining leaves on the trees and ruminating on what I was certain was slim pickings for today's #stampoftheday. But, as it turns out, I was wrong and the stamps led me on unexpectedly …
Topic: Historical Figures & Events
Delving into the people and events that shaped history
Today's #stampoftheday honors a "champion of liberty," who, among others things, was a Russian military officer who loved Tsar Nicholas II, a spy who met the 13th Dalai Lama, the commander of the "White Guard" in Finland's civil war, a statesman who got the US and Great Britain to recognize Finnish independence, the leader of …
In August 21, 1945, my father, along with almost 15,000 other soldiers, was on the Queen Mary, which was one of the first ships to bring soldiers back from Europe at the end of World War II. As the ship approached New York Harbor, the soldiers saw a familiar and welcome sight—the Statue of Liberty. …
In 1993, when it grappled with fundamental questions the state's educational finance system, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court used language from the state's more than 200-year old constitution as the basis for a groundbreaking decision that forced the state to give much more aid to its poorest cities and towns. That clause was written by …
As Election Day approaches, it is increasingly hard think or write about stamps that don't somehow connect with tomorrow's watershed vote. Consequently, I've been on the lookout for stamps that, in some way, connect with my current emotional mix of anxiety, excitement, bewilderment, resoluteness, and many other things. Today, that process brings me to 4- and …
"Never was there, perhaps, more hollowness at heart than at present, and here in the United States." Although Walt Whitman wrote those words almost 150 years ago, they are resonant tonight as I sit watching early election returns making it clear that the election is likely to be closer than I hoped. As I watch …
Some classic American humor from the 1920s and early 30s is featured in today's #stampoftheday, which aims to provide a temporary respite for those of us who've had an exhausting night, a tension-filled day, and an unsettled but hopeful evening. The humor comes courtesy of Will Rogers, a famed stage and film actor, humorist, newspaper …
"Georgia," as Ray Charles sings in a classic recording, today, had been on my mind "the whole day through." So, perhaps, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the somewhat random process that generates #stampoftheday candidates today produced a 4-cent stamp honoring one of the state's most important and influential politicians in the mid 20th century. …
Bliss. For the moment, I am in a state of bliss. Indeed, I even feel a bit like Francis Scott Key, who saw that "the rocket's red glare...gave proof through the night that our flag was still there." So it seems quite appropriate that today's #stampoftheday, which really was issued on November 7, 1948, not only honors the …